Re: A thumbs up to trains

[mauried@tpg.com.au (Maurie Daly)]

On Fri, 6 Apr 2001 15:49:32 +1000, "Al" <alpout@optusnet.com.au>
wrote:

>Dr Karl Kruszelnicki (thank god for copy and paste) has put an article up on
>his website (http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/trek/s268283.htm) regarding
>trains and the benefits of them, particularly compared with trucks for freight
>transport.  He even concludes with "Many of the countries in Europe, and
>America, are all expanding their rail networks - but in Australia, we're
>closing them down. With this kind of "planning", we'll never be The Clever
>Country. ".  Now, this guy has a lot of clout, does a lot of stuff on the
>radio, been on Good News Week etc.
>
>Also, did anyone watch the doco on the ABC called "The Truckies"?  It aired
>last night, 5/4.  What got me was how many illegal things were shown or talked
>about on the show (from the in-cab shots of drivers and passengers without
>seatbelts), to the appalling hours and distances they cover.  One truckie was
>given 2 1/2 days to drive Melbourne-Perth by his freight company, and lost 1/4
>day with reloading since the load was overweight.  This ended up with him
>having to cover 1400km per day (from Adelaide).  Now, in theory, trucks are
>limited to 100km/h, and one driver can only do 12 hours a day, so that's a
>maximum of 1200km/day.  Another driver admitted that he used stimulants, until
>a crash where he rolled his truck and broke his neck.  What really annoyed me
>about the program was that it portrayed the drivers as heroes, but in reality
>they're kamikazes.
>
>--
>Al Pout
>
>Men are from Earth.
>
>Women are from Earth.
>
>Deal with it.
>
>

Im somewhat curious to know just what passenger trains running between
Sydney and Melbourne weight "several thousand tonnes ".

MD